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Reclaiming Former Glory!
Problem Kori was wandering throughout the hillside, the wind whipping his hair back. He had not quite gotten used to his new human body yet, but he found it useful. "I see you're still roaming the area in that form. Still attached to your host, I assume?" He wasn't alone. The voice of another Kitsune had spoken suddenly, and the figure that had produced it was standing behind him. The scent of the fox had come to the sensitive nose, as well as the powerful chakra it was known for. Yet, what was standing behind him wasn't the beast that the Earth had feared so many times. Hair eternally stained with the color of crimson, blue clothing with the shape of a samurai, and two swords secured to his waist, the stranger would've been unknown to anyone else. But definitely not to the fox he had spoken to. "Tenko.." Kori looked up in surprise. "Have you been following me?" "In a matter of speaking..." Tenko replied dryly. "But only for a few seconds. I was looking for you, in order to see how far you've come in freeing yourself." Kori looked at him as if he did not believe what he was hearing. "What do you mean, how far I've come in freeing myself?" He asked. "I'm here I believe." But Tenko shook his head in negative acknowledgement. "You're not "here" completely." He said calmly. "Surely, if you had been truly freed, you would've been able to feel your full power come to you as of now. Right now, you're a shadow of the power you had been as the Nine-Tailed Fox." He explained. "The majority of your soul and power is still sealed within your host." "I see." Kori replied, and his head twitched toward the dagger at his waist. "And you didn't tell me this before you gave me that offer why?" It was then that Tenko had to chuckle. "Had you not heard what I said to you before? I had told you this when you were stuck inside that cage of yours. Or, were you too blinded by your own malevolence in order to listen completely?" His eyes fell upon the sheathed dagger. "I don't blame you, though; being a prisoner for so long can bring someone to the brink of insanity, after all." Kori scowled. "So how do I draw my power from the girl?" "You are able to control it as you did before, only instead of feeding it to the Tenno girl, you can draw it away from her. It will be a slow process, but if you're tenacious enough, you'll be able to summon your power away from her and regain your power once again." "I see." Kori replied. "Well you don't stay inside of someone's consciousness for a long time without developing a sense a patience. Do I need to be close to her to draw it out?" In a show of indignance, Tenko scoffed. "Of course not! Such a thing would be the closest thing to walking up to her and begging for your chakra back!" Kori laughed. "Is there a limit to how far away I need to be to draw it out?" "Not at all. It's your chakra, and you have still have control of it." "Alright." The Kyuubi sat down at the edge of the hill that overlooked a small village. "I've been meaning to ask, you intend to get back at the Kitsune Realm for trapping you in a human form do you not?" The question caused Tenko to raise an eyebrow. "Partially the reason. Why do you ask?" He countered with his own question, though he could assume that Kori would tell him either way. "Just curious." The man replied. "When it happens alert me. I figure it'll provide me with some amusement." Just curious. The answer filled some sort of disappointment in Tenko, for he hoped, at the very least, where the Kyuubi's true intentions lay. Though, he didn't expect anything less - it was something that came with discretion. "Are you saying you'll help me?" He questioned. "Depends." Kori replied evasively. "If I think my assistance is needed then I just might help you, brother." He said, saying that last word with a hint of sarcasm. "So be it. But, by then, I hope you will make your choice." "Alright." The Kyuubi replied an he closed his eyes. "Now to focus on drawing out my chakra from the girl." With that, Tenko's figure abruptly vanished into the breeze, leaving only a few leaves behind where he had stood. Parasites The Kurosaki family was having a fairly ordinary morning. The kitchen was full of the clanking of utensils against china and chatter. "Good news, imouto, Tou-san!" Michiyo announced, putting on an enthusiastic smile for her family members. "I've passed my initation tests. You're looking at an official ANBU of Konohagakure now!" "Excellent!" Ahatake said, smiling. "I'll bet your mother is proud of you." "Yeah." Akane said flatly. "ANBU and leader of a clan all in one." The disappointment in her sister's voice was evident. It immediately darkened Michiyo's features with a frown and a rather guilty look as she looked over at her younger sister. But her tone wasn't matching her countenance. "Hey, don't talk like that! You still have the Chunin Exams to look ahead of, don't you?" "Oh sure, I'll be a Chunin and you'll be a Jonin, Anbu and Clan Leader. Literally 3 steps ahead of me." "You know..." Standing up from her chair, the woman walked over towards Akane and stood over her for a moment, before reaching over to place a hand on her sister's hair. "I was in your shoes once. Frustrated, thinking I would never get anywhere... Kaa-san and Tou-san would be always once step ahead of me, and I thought I would never catch up. But do you know what kept me going, even when I thought I was simply facing a dead end?" "No." Akane replied. "What?" "It's what you have right now: will." A small smile crossed Michiyo's face. "You and I have our own strengths and weaknesses, but we both share at least one thing in common: the desire to surpass ourselves and the determination to keep going. I believe that was what helped you win in your Chunin tests... I think it can carry you a bit more." Akane's face turned bright pink and she smiled. "Thanks Onee-chan." "It's what a sister's supposed to do." Michiyo replied, though she returned the smile. "Now, how about we start seeing how far you've gotten right now.... that is, if you're up for it?" "Alright." Akane replied. But before she could get up, Akiko cleared her throat. "I have something you all might fine useful!" She said, a crazed glint in her eye. "Huh?" A puzzled look came from Michiyo in part of her reply, along with "What is it, oba?" She held up a vial of something clear that resembled water. "Who wants to guess what this is?" "....whiskey?" Michiyo guesed. "Sprite?" Yuri suggested, speaking for the first time. "No. It's a unique mixture imperceptible in most drinks, such as coffee, orange juice, tea etc, and if useful for coating weapons in. It is also imperceptible to any known method of autopsy." She said with pride "...so it's some sort of sugar?" Ahatake sighed. "I think it's a poison." "Exactly!" Akiko said grinning. "I got it off some dude with sallow skin, greasy black hair, and a hook nose that I met down at the bar. Kinda moved like a bat." "So..." Michiyo scratched the back of her head with one of her hands. "What's it supposed to do?" Akiko sighed. "You lot are slow. At least Onii-chan got it right. It's a poison damn it! It kills!" "....I have actual weapons for that, obi." Michiyo muttered in slight disapproval, folding her arms across her chest. "Besides, I would've hoped for a more specific description of how it kills." "The man didn't say." Akiko replied. "If you don't want it just say it." Michiyo blinked. "What would you want me to use it for? You said before it was something that could be useful, but for what?" Ahatake sighed. "Michiyo you're over loading her with questions and statements. Just say whether you want it or not before she explodes." "Tou-san, I was wondering how it was supposed to help us! I was intending for Akane and I to train again, not to kill each other!" Michiyo insisted, slightly indignant at her words. "You have missions don't you?" Akiko asked. "This poison, according to the grease-ball is supposed to spread very fast and kills in minutes." "Ugh, then why didn't you say that in the first place?" Michiyo complained. "All right, then, I'll take it." Akiko gave her a vile and handed one to Ahatake. "I think you'll like 'em." "Sure, oba." Michiyo muttered dryly, gently shaking the vile and stirring the liquid aimlessly. "Just how many vials of this stuff do you have? Are these the only ones?" "Nooo..." Akiko replied. "I've a whole chamber full, along with other mixtures. It's down under the mansion." Akane sighed. "Now we know what you do in your spare time." She said. "You're a witch doctor." Michiyo shrugged. "Oh, well. Anyway, you comin', Akane?" "Yeah." Akane replied, grabbing Yuri and pulling her along, anxious to get away from her strange aunt. With haste, Michiyo led the way out of the room, shutting the door behind them to leave brother and sister alone. They headed to the new sparring room Ahatake had molded onto the house, instead of heading outside. "Why do you wanna test me Onee-chan? I should be learning new moves not sparring with you!" "You are." Michiyo said simply. "Care to run that by me again?" "You're going to learn a new move, courtesy of me." Michiyo explained, using her arms for emphasis. "I've been working on new ways to expand the Petal Release concept, and this is where I've gotten so far." Akane and Yuri were wide eyed. "Expanding....Petal Release?" They asked in unison. "Yep." As if to emphasize, Michiyo extended one of her arms towards the two, her other hand reaching out to grip the upper part of it. The skin on the arm immediately had taken on a pinkish quality. "Now, I want one of you to unleash a Fire technique on me so I can demonstrate." Akane quickly formed hand seals and molded her chakra in her mouth. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" She expelled a medium sized ball of flame so as not to burn down the dwelling. The pink skin on Michiyo's arm started to peel, turning upwards to reveal the regular skin underneath. The result was several pedal-like extensions on the entire arm, giving it the appearance of a flower blooming. As the fireball came towards her, she waited, palm outstretched as if to catch it. Once upon contact, however, the fireball had disappeared. But the petals on her arm were glowing red, even as she lowered it to her side once more. "Neat, eh? It's just like a flower blooming in the sunlight. The petals take in the offensive energy used, convert it, and spread it throughout the user's body. It acts as fuel for the body, and can lengthen his or her stamina at least for a short time." Akane and Yuri's eyes widened. "SWEET!" Akane said grinning widely. "I wanna learn that!" Michiyo smiled. "Glad to hear it. But it's going to be difficult at first. Don't expect this to be completely painless either. Got it?" "Alright!" Akane cheered. ---- "Hey, Onii-san!" Akiko called out to her brother who was sitting in a chair in the sitting room. "Hm?" Ahatake looked up from his book, The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, to look at his sister. "What is it?" "Why did you make Michi-chan the leader of this clan at such a young age?" Akiko asked, in a serious tone. "Do you really think she's ready?" Ahatake sighed. "She's older than I was when I began clan leader." He pointed out. "And Michiyo is skilled. She also has a knack for creativity. She can create techniques in months that most people can't create in years. She has potential and I figure as the leader of our clan she can unlock it all." "I see." Akiko said and suddenly her body shook. She felt momentarily weak and she clutched at a table for support. "Are you O.K?" Ahatake asked. "Y-yeah, I'm-I'm fine." She replied shakily. ---- "All right..." Michiyo instructed, hands clasped behind her back, and eyes observing her sister intently. "First you have to focus your chakra to the part of the body where you want the petals to form. You have to distribute it evenly, otherwise... well, you'll get some sort of injury in that body part." Akane looked confused. "Distribute the chakra evenly? What do you mean?" "Chakra control. You envelop the outline of the part of the body you want to use with your chakra and maintain it." "I see.." Akane said. "Sounds difficult." "Just try your best." "Could there be any...permanent damage to my arm if I mess up?" Akane asked warily. Michiyo put a finger to her chin. "Maybe long-term... but nothing that can't be patched up." She concluded, raising her hands in a mild shrug. Akane scowled. She closed her eyes as her chakra began to build up. Seeing the scowl made the older sister frown in disapproval. "Don't worry about the side effects so much." She chided. "There's always going to be some sort of side effect that'll grow the more stronger the jutsu is, at least to normal beings like you and me. I know... I myself had trouble learning how to manipulate the Petal Release like this too." Akane smiled at that. Knowing her sister had trouble at anything made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She began to manipulate her chakra and send it into her right arm, her main arm. Michiyo continued to look on, using her senses to "see" the chakra forming itself. It was a matter of delicacy and fragile beauty that could be easily broken if not fully careful. If the flow of chakra was even the slightly irregular, the technique that would be executed would ultimately backfire, resulting in backlashing damage to the arm. Akane's eyes snapped shut. She was beginning to feel a slight burning sensation as her arm changed color from it's normal fair tone to a violent dark pink. That's when Michiyo's eyes widened, and she instinctively raised her hand out in a signal to stop. "Akane, wait! Stop your chakra flow, quickly!" She exclaimed urgently, staring upon the unusual shade of pink in narrowed-eyed concern. Akane immediately halted the flow of chakra and the color began to recede. "What?" She asked. "What happened?" "Your arm wasn't supposed to turn that pink..." Michiyo said hesitantly. "If you continued to maintain it, it would've damaged your arm.... and I've no idea of how severe it would've been." "Oh." Akane said. "So I coulda permanently damaged my arm?" "Yes." "Isn't there a SAFER way to do this?" "Nope. Sorry, imouto, but you're going to have to actually jump into risks if you want to master this." "Fine, but if I lose my arm over this, YOU'RE patching it up." She said huffily. Yuri laughed. "Imouto..." Michiyo smiled. "Don't you trust me on this? I wouldn't let you get hurt doing something like this." "Alright." Akane said. "You better not be lying." She began to focus her chakra once more and sent it to her right arm. Once again, Michiyo took to observing the process carefully, looking for any sign of disruption or irregularity. The arm began to glow and it changed from it fair tone to a dark pink, though not as violent as before. "I'm still nervous about the dark quality of the color..." Michiyo thought, frowning slightly. "Now, gently mold the chakra into thin and seperate pieces while pulling it upwards from your skin. This will cause the "petals" to rise up from your arm and stick out." Akane gritted her teeth as she began to focus and manipulate the chakra. "How do I make it "sprout"?" "That is how you make it sprout." Akane began to focus on the chakra in her arm, blocking out all distraction, and the "petals" began to rise slowly. "If you pull too violently, your skin will peel off instead of the petals." Michiyo warned. Akane's eyes widened in alarm and she lost concentration, the petals descending and her arm returning to normal. "Aww..." Michiyo complained, giving her sister an exasperated look. "You were doing fine! Why'd you quit?" "You made me panic, saying my skin could be ripped off!" "Ah, is that it? Well, go on and do it again." Akane scowled. She began to add chakra to her arm again, the arm becoming a light pink this time around and the petals began to rise up. "That's better..." The petals had fully risen after about half a minute and took the form of a fully bloomed flower. "Now what?" Immediately, Michiyo flung her hands in a set of hand seals, then placed a Tiger seal to the side of her mouth. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" She mentally shouted. On cue, the fireball was sent from her mouth and towards the younger sister. Akane placed her hand and the flower petal in the path of the fireball. Michiyo put on a small smile as she looked on, retracting from her stance and folding her arms across her chest. The moment the fireball touched her hands, the petals reacted and it began to grow smaller as the petals absorbed it. Akane felt energy flowing through her as the ball was complete absorbed. "Congratulations!" Michiyo said with contained enthusiasm. "You just learned how to use the technique. It'll take some practice to get fully used to it, but I think you'll be a natural in no time." Akane grinned as the petals receded and her arm returned to normal. Yuri smiled. "You learned a new technique!" "Yup!" Akane grinned. "Hey can we go eat lunch?" She asked. "I'm hungry!" "I knew you'd go on and say that." Michiyo put on a grin. "But, as of the moment, I'm a bit hungry myself. So sure, let's go on ahead and eat!" "Onee-chan, can you make me a great-great cheeseburger?" Akane asked excitedly. "Fatass." Was the immediate reply. "Not nice!" Akane said as Yuri giggled. They reached the main family room to see Akiko sitting on the sofa clutching her head. "Huh?" To say the situation was a bit peculiar would've been correct to say. One second, the aunt had been cheerful one minute, and the next, she was clutching her head as if a severe migrane was attacking her. Calmly, she walked over to her, leaning over to face level. "You OK, oba?" "I wish.." She muttered. "I feel pathetic." "You look pathetic, too..." Michiyo said jokingly, taking up a seat beside her. "Headache? Migraine? "I don't know." Akiko replied. "I just seem to be feeling weak." "You should rest, then." Michiyo suggested, reaching over to place a hand on Akiko's shoulder. "If you're weak, it probably means you're just tired." "From what?" Ahatake asked. "She hasn't done anything today." The sudden interruption from her father made her eye twitch in annoyance. "Tou-san, it'd be better for her to say that if it's true." She scolded. "She does stuff outside of this house, too, you know!" "We all know what she does outside of this house." Ahatake replied. "...." "I think I need some air." Akiko replied, getting up shakily and walking outside. She sighed as the cool morning air hit her face. Michiyo sighed heavily, placing her hands behind her head as she watched the aunt leave. "Sheesh... what's gotten into her?" She wondered. "I have no idea." Ahatake said as he sat back down in his chair with his book and began reading it again. "She wasn't like this yesterday." "I hope she gets over it soon... a bit mood-deflating seeing her like this." "Yeah, she's usually so energetic." Yuri said, looking outside the door, a concerned expression on her face. "Thing is she doesn't seem sick or anything." "Like I said... probably exhausted. At least, by something." Michiyo muttered suggestively, switching positions so that she could lie on the couch. "From what I'm getting," Yuri said. "Her chakra is draining. It's subtle so it's hard to be sure, but I'm confident that's what it is." "You sure...? Like Tou-san said, she hasn't been doing anything..." Michiyo questioned in puzzlement. "What could be causing her chakra to drain?" "I don't know." Yuri replied. "But I can feel it. Her chakra is draining away." "....it's not life-threatening, is it?" Michiyo's voice had now lost the confidence it had before, even as she continued to question the younger Tenno. "I don't think so..but it'll make her much weaker than she used to be." That brought a heavy sigh from Michiyo, and caused her to turn her head away from Yuri. "Let's hope she makes it through..." She muttered, closing her eyes in thought. "Yeah." Enter Angel Fuyuko was walking around a dark room, the only light was the glow that came off the crystal she was wearing. Tenko had told her to wait there, since he was going to explain something to her. It wasn't long before he himself had appeared before her, arms folded across his chest, and a stoic expression on his countenance. "Fuyuko. Glad to see you made it." He commented idly. She smiled. "Not like I have anything better to do." "If I get the Kyuubi's full cooperation, there's something I hope the three of us can do." A small smile crossed his face, borderlining on a smirk of arrogance. "Two deities are enough, of course. But three will be more than enough to ensure the plan works. I'd like us to locate and travel to a place with high populace, then put a seal on one of the buildings where no one will notice. I will do the same, only for a different location." "Only places in this world with large amounts of people would be Hidden Villages." Fuyuko said, thinking for a moment. "And I'm sure Kyuubi will help. He'll get bored eventually." Tenko nodded. "When it is set, we can activate the seals at will, which will summon a fire that will burn from the seal. With frightening speed, it will start to consume everything that the seal is meant to target, including every single human stuck within. Then, once all three are activated... well. I prefer to keep that as a surprise." "I like the way you think." Fuyuko grinned. Tenko chuckled humorlessly. "On that moment, we'll hold the destruction of the ignorant fools who still dare to call themselves Kitsune. They'll be slaughtered like the beasts they are." Fuyuko grinned wider. "But why are you keeping the last part as a surprise? Don't want to trust me?" "Of course I trust you." Tenko looked a bit indignanat at the remark, but his voice was still levelly calm. "I just don't want to spoil everything right away." "Well, it better be worth my while." She said, walking towards the door. "I don't want to have waited all this time for nothing. And by the way, why do you have Hakkin keeping tabs on the Tenno girl?" "....she possesses a power that her sister does not." Tenko explained, his voice a bit quiet after saying it. "It's a hidden power that can only be unlocked through continous training. Although the elder daughter possesses intelligence and skill that dominates Akane's... the fact of that power is what I'm focused on. It could be an essential factor to empowering the weapon." "Ah. Sounds promising." Fuyuko said as left. "I'm about to go "hunting". I'll be back in a bit." Tenko nodded. "Fair enough." ---- Meanwhile, Kori was still sitting on the hillside, as motionless as ever, but there was a faint red glow about him. He slowly opened his eyes and they were blood red with catlike slits. He stood up. "I've recovered at least half of my former power." He thought as he started to walk. "I'll recover the rest of it later. Perhaps, though I will take Tenko up on his offer." Kori walked quietly until he vanished into the shadows, with a feeling of foreboding left in the area he had vacated. ' The End '''